888 fighting back in Germany

By Harrison Sayers

Gibraltar based, 888 Holdings Public Limited Company, has revealed through a press release on the company’s website that it has ‘filed a constitutional complaint with the German Federal Constitutional Court’, regarding the decision to uphold a ban on online gaming services in Baden-Württemberg, the third largest German state with a population of over 10 million people.

Rather than exiting the German market in this period of regulatory uncertainty for online gaming operators, 888 has decided to stay and fight their corner; 888 Holdings has consulted its legal counsel and instead opted to contest the decision.

888 Holdings has now announced that they have formally filed a complaint through one of the group’s subsidiaries against the ruling, in an attempt to reverse the decision that would prohibit their online operations in Baden-Württemberg.

The company's legal counsel advised in favour of filing the complaint on the grounds that ‘the ruling of the German Federal Administrative Court infringes its constitutional rights, as well as its rights under EU law (including the freedom to provide services), and hence should be reversed’.

The company had discussed Germany’s regulatory uncertainties in their 2017 final results report, highlighting their difficulties in their Chairman’s statement.

Brian Mattingley, 888 Holdings Chairman, claimed: “In recent months, other providers have withdrawn from the German online gaming market, and recently payment institutions facilitating approximately 9% of deposits for the Group in Germany have decided to cease providing certain services with respect to the German online gaming market”.

If the appeal fails 888 Holdings could be joining other online operators and digital suppliers, such as Novomatic, who have already made the decision to exit the German market.